Jimenez+Interpersonal+Activity

=History's All-Star Cabinet= By Martin Jimenez

Purpose
This activity would be designed as an end of the year exercise that would challenge students to use their knowledge about the various world leaders studied during the year in AP World History. Given a list of various world leaders, students will choose their top eight choices to fill the following cabinet positions;


 * 1) Secretary of State - Head of foreign affairs
 * 2) Secretary of Treasury - Head of finance
 * 3) Secretary of Defense - Concerned with armed services and military matters
 * 4) Attorney General - Chief law enforcement officer
 * 5) Secretary of Energy - Oversees energy production and regulation
 * 6) Secretary of Education - Chief adviser regarding schools
 * 7) Secretary of the Interior - Handles National Parks, Land Use, and Environmental Concerns
 * 8) Secretary of Homeland Security - Created to Protect U.S. citizens following the 9-11 attacks

Students will be challenged to defend their choices and critique the choices of other groups in an open debate. The overall purpose of the activity is to get students to connect the knowledge they have gained during the year and connect it to events that are affecting our nation today. Below is a list of potential candidates to get the facilitator started. This list could easily be edited to fit the specific needs of individual courses.


 * 1) Isaac Newton
 * 2) Benjamin Franklin
 * 3) Mohandas Gandhi
 * 4) Confucius
 * 5) Johann Gutenberg
 * 6) Christopher Columbus
 * 7) Albert Einstein
 * 8) Aristotle
 * 9) Charles Darwin
 * 10) Emperor Shi Huang Di
 * 11) Augustus Caesar
 * 12) Constantine the Great
 * 13) Karl Marx
 * 14) Genghis Kahn
 * 15) Adam Smith
 * 16) Alexander the Great
 * 17) Napoleon Bonaparte
 * 18) Thomas Edison
 * 19) Ferdinand Magellan
 * 20) Plato
 * 21) Oliver Cromwell
 * 22) Alexander Graham Bell
 * 23) Alexander Fleming
 * 24) John Locke
 * 25) Simon Bolivar
 * 26) Rene Descartes
 * 27) Michelangelo
 * 28) Marie Curie
 * 29) Ibn Battuta
 * 30) Emperor Asoka
 * 31) Queen Isabella I
 * 32) Joseph Stalin
 * 33) Julius Caesar
 * 34) Lao Tzu
 * 35) Voltaire
 * 36) Enrico Fermi
 * 37) Jean-Jacques Rousseau
 * 38) Nicoli Machiavelli
 * 39) Thomas Malthus
 * 40) V. I. Lenin
 * 41) Cyrus the Great
 * 42) Peter the Great
 * 43) Mao Zedong
 * 44) Francis Bacon
 * 45) Henry Ford
 * 46) Mencius
 * 47) Queen Elizabeth I
 * 48) Charlemagne
 * 49) Homer
 * 50) Emperor Justinian I

Time Required
The time required for the activity would vary depending on class size. Ideally this activity could be done during an one hour class period.

Number of Participants
The activity is designed for classes of between 20 and 40 students.

Supplies Needed
Facilitators would need a whiteboard or a projector to post the list of potential cabinet candidates and the available cabinet positions. Students would need a poster or easel with a flip chart pad and markers. Students will be allowed to use their textbooks and class notes as a reference if needed.

Preparation
Facilitators might want to review the list of potential candidates before the activity and possibly edit it to better suit the needs of the individual course that they may be teaching. The activity itself could be easily adapted to suit other history courses.

Introduction
Any casual look into current events gives us the impression that our nation is facing serious political, economic, and social issues as we approach a new presidency. What if you had the ability to travel back in time and select some of history's most important and influential personalities to help our president through these troubled times. Well, now is your chance. We have gone back in time and rounded up 50 likely candidates to help our next president deal with challenges that face our nation today. Each candidate has been brought up to speed about the inner workings of our society and government structure. Whom would you choose to be a part of history's All-Star presidential cabinet? Why would they be the right person for the job? Would they be someone that could handle taking orders from our president? Would they be a team player? What evidence from history would support your choices?

You and your group will first have the task of viewing a list of potential candidates and selecting your top eight to fill the most powerful cabinet positions. Next, you must defend your choices in an open debate with your classmates. You will also have the ability to question the cabinet rosters of your classmates.

Process
Step by step, describe what the facilitator and the participants will be doing. If appropriate, estimate the number of minutes each step will take.


 * 1) Present the list of potential candidates and the list of cabinet positions that must be filled on the whiteboard or projector screen.
 * 2) Break students into groups of 4 to 5 students. (Group numbers can be adjusted depending on class size)
 * 3) Given students up to 20 minutes to discuss their options and make their selections.
 * 4) Student groups present their all-star cabinet and provide the rationale behind their selections. (Depending on the number of groups, allow 10-15 minutes)
 * 5) Allow time after each presentation for challenges from the audience. (no more than 5 minutes)
 * 6) Facilitator leads debriefing discussion. (5 to 10 minutes)
 * 7) Come up with a consensus list as a class of the "All-Star" cabinet. (Optional step)

Debrief

 * Describe the process your went through to make your cabinet selections: What qualities did you feel were the most/least important in a candidate?
 * If you were to pick one person from the list to act as a close adviser to our present, whom would you chose? Why?
 * If there is one person from the list that should NEVER be considered for any cabinet position in our country, whom would it be? Why?
 * Predict what our nation's reaction would be to your All-Star cabinet? What would be the Democrats/Republican reactions? How do you think our current president would react?
 * It is quite common for cabinet members to be fired or resign and replaced during the President's term(s) in office. Whom do you think would be the first from your All-Star cabinet to be fired or resign? Why?
 * What was the most difficult part of this activity for you and your group?

Credits
The following website was used to help generate the list of 50 candidates. http://www.dlmark.net/hundred.htm